Though it's been about a year and a half since my Dad passed along -- my life is as peppered with Dadisms today as it was while he was alive. One day as he battled through cancer, bravely I must add, I asked how he was doing; "well I'm not going to buy any green bananas". Ah!!! such was his humor and it is dearly missed.
Unfortunately he left the planet prior to me communicating all the "I told ya so's" I would have liked. You see -- proving my father wrong was and continues to be a necessary preoccupation for reasons not abundantly clear. They are however of critical import.
So it is with great pleasure, glee and something approximating euphoria that I share the names of the 3 men that make up the Canadian Skateboarding Team for the 2021 Olympics. In 1976, I argued with my father about my passion for the piece of wood with roller skates screwed to the bottom I'd been riding.
"Skateboarding is not a sport" he said. "Baseball is a sport - Soccer is a sport. Do you see skateboarding in the Olympics?!!!"😀 I rest my point. Smugly I might add. Good luck to Andy, Matt and Micky -- the men representing our country in this fine fine SPORT!
The Belay King
In what can only be described as a horror show in real time, I attempted rock climbing with a group of intrepid adventurers. To the far right of the photo my good friend Andy surveys the sheer cliff that we had foolishly agreed to climb. His expression is clear. What The Fuck!!
He did however do wonderfully well as 6 hours of challenging ourselves to feats of strength and courage slipped away surprisingly fast. The view from the top (I understand from talking with others) was absolutely spectacular.
The African Savannah stretched out in front of us forever bathed in the glorious afternoon sun. Baboons danced on the cliffs making fun of our awkward attempts to do what comes so naturally to them. Interestingly, I noticed some baboons were wearing masks. It's good to see them taking this Covid19 thing seriously.
Actually I did make it to the top on a few occasions but found I was much better at Belaying than climbing. Later - looking at this picture, I noted that I have a big fat ass. Could that be the problem?
Some Charitable Flap doodle and Folderol
Many thanks to my friend George and my Mom's friend Gail for their generous support. George was kind enough to drop off this maize flour for the kids a Kibera and Gail sent along some much needs funds to help out Jake's Education fund. Thank you very much.
Jake has finished the term with flying colors and starts the next term this Wednesday. Yvonne and I were busy this weekend getting his new books for the upcoming term. Very exciting!!! I'm curious to read all 3 required books but Just like me in particular. 😀
If you would like to donate to The Majengo Kids - The Kibera Kids - or Jake's Education:
E-interact -- laynemahon@live.com or Paypal -- laynegmahon@gmail.com
No Leopards so far Layno!
Thanks for reading....Layno!!! (and Max of course)
This week has been absolutely exhausting!!!! With 3am Hockey games (as a Canadian I take my Stanley Cup support obligations seriously) Euro 2020 games starting at 10pm and going to midnight, the COPA America soccer matches at 3am (Congratulations Argentina) and last but not least, the Tour de France which has been spectacular this year. Go Micheal Woods - an amazing Canadian Cyclist.
I love them all, enjoying the emotions that run through you for reasons that are not always clear. For me, I always find that I enthusiastically tag my allegiances to one team or another. Joy or sorrow are then inevitable.
I recall from my University Days Noam Chomsky ( a noted and popular philosopher and contrarian) saying that organized sports are "manufactured" to distract people from the really important issues that face us. At the time - I though that was probably true, but have to say that when Montreal beat Tampa Bay the other night, I was thrilled even though I spend my days as a humanitarian, confronting some of the tough issues Noam spoke of and face our Global community.
So with all that said, most of the readers will know that we support Jake with our donations so that he can attend school. Above are a few shots of sports day for his school. With some pride, we should celebrate his participation and opportunities that arise from learning to work play and relate to others in such a cool environment. Well done to Le Pic School, and Jake's Mom Yvonne for working with us to get Jake in there!!! Maybe he'll play for the Montreal Canadians some day and kick those Tampa Baybuggers to the curb!!
What have WE been doing?
While the Canadian and Global media have more or less relented from their onslaught of castigating the Charity I work for, little has changed on the ground where arguably it really matters. The Team continues to provide drinking water, health care and Education to the community.
That means repairing bore holes and filtering equipment for fresh water.
That means delivering babies
That means making sure 400+ kids have are learning from a proper curriculum
That means that all those kids can sleep peacefully - and safe from harm
And speaking of kids sleeping peacefully, pictured below is part of the 42 member Security Team that patrols night and day to ensure the safety of kids and staff. A couple weeks ago, security guards discovered a liter of Leopard pups beside the boys High school. Clearly it was time to speak to the grounds crew about being a bit more diligent with the slashing of brush in and around the school.
On this day, (again pictured below) the team leaders are going through training with the security team to make sure everyone is committed to the same goals with the same understanding. The Masai and Kipsigis (members of the community we support) are particularly good at this kind of work and carry it out with pride and distinction.
We also have a couple projects on the go that help members of the community earn income. Below are Mamas beading moccasins which will find their way back to South America and then -- probably (and ironically) Amazon 😆
I slipped into this room to speak with the supervisor about the progress and as we talked quietly I mentioned that another order for 5000 pieces had come in. She immediately shouted out that information to the whole room at which point the entire room started shrieking with joy. I tell you, it was a moment I'll never forget as the gratitude for our work often doesn't make it's way to the operations team working behind the scenes, I quickly left the room so that my stupid tears would not give away my emotional overload.
Lastly, we went to Majengo yesterday with our monthly food contribution to keep those kid's bellies full for the next month. Rather than photos, I chose to include a couple videos of the trip from pickup to into the tummies. Again a thank you to WE charity for letting me use the company car to transport the goods to the kids.
A massive thank you for the generosity of Jill, my Mom's close friend, also my lifelong friend of 40 years Ms Carla Piscopo -- and my friend Adrienne for their very generous and thoughtful donations.
Above is a video of the guys loading up at our supplier in central Nairobi, an area called Kileleshwa. Below, driving into Eastleigh (Majengo community), the Somali part of town generally considered to be one of the most dangerous areas in Nairobi. Thirdly, the big smile from Grace as we unload. Lastly (and many thanks to Peter at Marketways for the free cookies) the kids clearly enjoying the offered cookies.😅
Thanks for reading ..... Layno and Max!!! - who really wants up on the bed. (come on Layno - just this once)
